


Candy Man

by Lasae_abyss



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Hand Jobs, M/M, Masturbation, Sex Toys, Voyeurism, set's in there a little too, tiny fantasy anzu/yugi, yami's tongue, yugi is a manslut, yugi is a tits pervert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-08
Updated: 2009-05-09
Packaged: 2017-12-09 19:37:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasae_abyss/pseuds/Lasae_abyss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released.  However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. In this fiction, Yugi gets the puzzle a few years later than he does in the manga/anime, when he’s eighteen (ostensibly so he’s legal).
> 
> Inspired by: Yami is a Candy Man by Destiny’s Shadow on youtube: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oN-uy-CKnw>

The pieces of gold lay scattered across the floor. Yugi picked up another, turning it over in his hand. Scattered reflections danced across the wall. It’d been a gift from his grandfather; a few dozen pieces of gold from _Ta-sekhet-ma'at_ in the Theban hills. God knew how Sugoroku had managed to find an unexcavated tomb, but for some reason, he’d kept the puzzle instead of handing it over to the authorities. His grandfather was developing something of a reputation for being _light-handed_ with antiquities. Even now Yugi was wearing a protection amulet from North Dahshur that Sugoroku had smuggled into Japan.

 

Conscious of all this, Yugi handled the puzzle with reverent care. Despite the fact it was over three thousand years old, the gold had barely dulled at all.

 

He fitted another piece with easy accuracy: at first the prospect had been daunting and the puzzle itself surprisingly hard for an ancient game, but now that he’d got that final piece back from Jounouchi the  
pyramid was almost complete. The hieroglyphs on the puzzle were badly worn, but Yugi recognised the symbols for knowledge and darkness, and the word _sekhem_ was repeated twice. Grandfather would be able to decipher the exact syntax.

 

There was a single jagged hole in the centre of the pyramid now, and one piece engraved with the left eye of Horus. _Udjat_ , Yugi recited mentally. _Horus, Seth, moon, healing_ (if he wanted to get into Waseda next year, the more he knew, the better). With a self-satisfied grin - _‘bout damn time_ -Yugi placed it into the corresponding gap.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Feeling oddly bereft, Yugi traced the curve of the eye and sighed. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it'd been more than nothing.

 

On his chest, the _iret_ eye glowed with a swift and sudden surge of power, and then died.

 

A loop of gold protruded from the base of the pyramid and, struck by a sudden urge, Yugi tied two of his shoelaces together - stripy violet ones - and strung the puzzle on it like an oversized pendant. The overall effect resembled a garish Christmas decoration, but Yugi wasn’t daunted (fashion didn’t seem to be something that just _went_ with inverted gold pyramids). He twirled the pyramid one-handed, watching the sunlight glance off its golden sides.

 

“Yugi!” The voice startled him into dropping it, and he looked up guiltily. Sugoroku had poked his head around the door and was frowning at him. “I thought you were doing your homework?” he asked sternly.

 

“Uh, yeah, I am!” Hastily he pulled his notebook closer and looked industrious. “I just had to finish the puzzle first.”

 

“You finished it?” Sugoroku looked surprised and pleased for a moment. “Excellent, Yugi - that‘s fantastic! But start that essay before dinner, alright?”

 

“Yes, yes, promise! I’m doing it now!” said Yugi, and he shook his pen with an engaging smile.  
Sugoroku gave him a look but retreated. “I'll start dinner now, then.”

 

“Okay!”

 

Yugi stared at the blank page, feeling his own mind turn just as blank and stupid. He really couldn’t be bothered with homework on a Monday night, but his world history essay was due in a week, and if he didn’t get two thousand words in by the weekend, he could kiss goodbye to his Middle Egyptian lessons. Yugi glanced longingly at the pile of hieroglyphic notes on his desk. Grandfather’s rules were explicit: homework left undone meant no Egyptian lessons. Pouting a little, Yugi picked up the golden pyramid again and ran a finger along its edge. The solid shape felt comforting in his hands, so he slipped its laces over his neck and let the pyramid rest on the floor by his shoulder. Yugi stretched his legs out and jotted down the title in quick, bold strokes. He chewed on his pen and lay gazing at the characters for a moment in silence.

 

His room suddenly seemed empty, and he wondered fleetingly how Anzu was dealing with her Japanese history essay. She’d picked Kabuki theatre for her topic, and had been struggling to find anything to write about - Yugi had tried telling her that Kabuki was prohibited in the Edo period, but the girl was so stubbornly fixated on the beauty of the forbidden dance that she’d simply waved a hand at him - “But, Yugi, that just makes it more _interesting_!” With a sigh, Yugi dismissed the thought, unbuttoning his school jacket as a sun’s rays warmed his back.

 

“Ow!” Drawing his hand back sharply he sucked on his finger. The clay amulet that dangled from his neck was scorching hot, burning in the light of the sun. Grunting, irritated, Yugi pulled it off and tucked it into a shadowed corner behind the bed.

 

Reaching for a thick textbook, he caught sight of his reflection looking stern in the mirror and turned to it, smiling, except…

 

Except it wasn’t his reflection.

 

He scrambled away, crab walked backwards until his back hit the wall on the other side of the room. “Oh my god-oh my god- _oh my god_.”

 

There was a _person_ in his mirror.

 

Standing with its arms crossed, looking more than a little angry, was a boy with wild, familiar hair and narrow crimson eyes. He stood like the shadow of an echo behind the reflective glass.

 

 _It’s the Candy Man!_ Yugi thought hysterically. _Oh my god, the Candy Man‘s in my mirror! Oh my god, I’m going to die._ Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. _Oh god, I’m going to_ die _. He’s going to cut me up into tiny little pieces and all that’ll be left is a few bits of clothes and a stain on the carpet and I'll be DEAD!_

 

He started to hyperventilate, gulping for air as the terror engulfed him. Thumping his chest a couple of times, Yugi told himself harshly to calm _the fuck_ down. With trepidation he cracked open one eye.  
The boy had uncrossed his arms and now stood with a hand in his pocket and a curious expression in his eyes. He didn’t seem like a murderer, but Yugi’d once read this book where a purple plume had possessed a girl’s body and tried to kill all her friends, so he didn’t hold much for appearances. Besides, he'd seen the movie.

 

He strongly believed that to run screaming from the room would only provoke the… the, uh, spirit. So instead he pressed his back to the wall and let words fall tremulously into the silence. “Wh-who are you?” No answer. No reaction save a slow, steady blink. _Maybe he doesn’t speak Japanese…?_

 

There was no clue in his appearance; he wore the same Domino uniform that Yugi wore, the same few leather belts and dark shirt. The same _pyramid_ , even. In fact, the boy looked very much like his own reflection, except darker, more chiselled and in all respects just better.

 

“What are you doing _in my mirror_?” he tried. Again there came no reply, but the boy tilted his head and stared at him. Correction. Not at him, but the pyramid weighing heavily around his neck.  
The thing held his attention for an endless minute, and then crimson eyes travelled over the rest of him with methodical care. They flickered around the room and then came back to stare at Yugi. Yugi shut his eyes tightly to block out that gaze, but the silence of the room pressed in around him and his imagination felt the touch of air on his face. His eyes flew open in shock, but nothing had changed. It still stood there, expressionless and motionless in his mirror. Yugi sat trembling, waiting with bated breath for something, anything, to happen, but the figure merely stood there calmly, watching.

 

 _Great_ , he thought in tones that verged on the hysterical. _Two months of work and all he had to show for it was a plated pyramid and a voyeur in his mirror._

 

“Yugi!” The shout broke through the odd trance that had held him motionless. Grandfather! His head swivelled to face the door, eyes dilated as he felt a fresh surge of fear. “Dinner’s ready! Are you coming down?”

 

“Ah, yeah, Grandfather! Be there in a sec!” He looked back, and the figure was gone.

 

After a minute of stunned silence, Yugi shook his head and attributed it to stress. He laughed a little. He was such an idiot! Strange men in his mirror? What next, mummies walking the streets of Domino?

 

“Yugi!”

 

He brushed a hand through his hair and dumped the puzzle on the floor as he went out. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” As the door swung shut behind him, the puzzle glowed briefly, its rays reflecting off a pair of crimson eyes hidden behind glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Ta-sekhet-ma’at_ -Literally, The Great Field: the royal necropolis in the Valley of the Kings west of the Nile. The kings of the eighteenth dynasty (save for Akhenaten) were buried here: chronologically, I’m placing Atem and his father in the eighteenth dynasty, circa. 1400 after Thutmose III but before Akhenaten.  
>  The hieroglyphs on the puzzle officially read; "The one who solves me shall gain the powers of knowledge and powers of darkness..." (according to wikipedia ^^)
> 
>  
> 
> Traditionally, the left eye of Horus ( _udjat/wedjat_ ; transliteration = wDAt), the damaged eye that was torn out by Seth, symbolises healing, protection and the moon. The right eye, the Eye of Ra ( _iret_ ; transliteration = ir.t) symbolises the sun and positive action (ir[.t] = to do).
> 
>  
> 
>  _kkw(i)_ = Darkness. The bracketed yud is a weak consonant and is often dropped. (Westcar Papyrus.17-8)
> 
>  
> 
> Waseda University in Tokyo; Institute of Egyptology. Yugi has ambition.  
> <http://www.waseda.jp/prj-egypt/index-E.html>
> 
>    
> Comments are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

Yugi dumped his bag by the door and flopped, boneless onto his bed. He took a deep breath and sighed, feeling it pull at every muscle in his body as he relaxed. _Finally…_ Today had been one stressful event after another: the drama club had taken today to parade around in kimonos and hakama, stabbing small, unsuspecting victims (like himself) to advertise their new play; a pipe in the entrance hall had burst so half of the shoe lockers (including his) had flooded; and, as if that wasn’t enough, Mochizuki-sensei had decided to throw a spontaneous math test (in his class).

 

Rolling on his back, Yugi stared at the blank ceiling. A surge of loneliness tugged at his insides. Anzu had been off sick today (probably sprained something again) and Jou had skipped again. Without them, school just seemed endless. Luckily the flood had kept everyone buzzing and too busy to bother with a quiet, undersized nerd like Yugi. For a second he wished his parents were still alive.

 

Yugi reached for the puzzle, cradling it in his hands. Comforted by its presence, he hung it around his neck and lay there tracing the eye with one finger. It was Wednesday, and the weekend seemed tantalisingly close, yet still a decade away. He tapped his foot against the duvet a couple of times, suddenly bored.

 

Duel Monsters. His pack was in his bag, he could work on his strategy. Jumping lightly from the bed, Yugi padded over to his bag, grabbed his deck to sort through and went to sit quietly on the carpet with his back to the bed.

 

That was the plan, but instead he screamed like a banshee and scattered his cards across the floor. The figure was back.

 

Spiked hair drifted in a phantom breeze, so much like his own, and the slender body leaned against the mirror’s frame with casual indifference.

 

_Eh?!_ Yugi leapt back and slammed his head into the bed frame. “Ow,” he cried, rubbing the wounded spot gingerly. He glared at the spirit, who simply looked amused. “I thought I made you up.” A raised eyebrow. Yugi slapped himself a couple of times, but to no effect; the figure was still there, still wearing his face and now seemed to be laughing at him. He stuck his tongue out childishly.

 

“Yugi! No yelling inside the house!”

 

“’kay! Sorry, Grandpa!” Yugi got up and shut the door. “Alright,” he sighed, one eye on the odd shadow. “So,” and he sat back down, levelling the boy with a sharp look. His doppleganger stood up straight and looked attentive. “Who are you?” The question provoked a few seconds of silence and then a vague shrug. “You have to have a name,” Yugi stated incredulously, trying to ignore the thoughts that floated through his head - _I am talking to a_ mirror. The spirit looked frustrated, and he shook his head like he was trying to shake water from his ears. “You don’t know?” Yugi said slowly. “Can’t you remember?” The figure seemed to droop and Yugi couldn’t suppress a wave of sympathy. Alright, so the pervert seemed to be _trapped_ in his mirror. That, at least, was better than having _chosen_ the position.

 

He pulled his legs under him and propped his chin in his hands. So, a strange man that looked dangerously like himself had turned up in his mirror - okay then, he guess he'd just have to deal with it now, and freak out later, preferably after he somehow fixed the situation. “What should I call you, then…?” Yugi wondered, almost to himself. He was surprised when, after a few minutes, the boy sketched something on the glass. Yugi crept closer and squinted. He did it again. It was foreign writing, looked like… a hieroglyph, Yugi realised, with the first trembles of excitement. _He’s Egyptian?!_ “Keku,” Yugi muttered as he finally recognised the sign “Or gerekh.” Darkness. _Why would he call himself that?_ Yugi wondered. _It’s better than freaky-ass pervert, I suppose, or Spirit-that-looks-like-me._ “I’m Yugi,” he added with emphatic prod at his chest. _This is really awesome_ , he thought, face automatically mirroring his inner delight. However…

 

_If grandfather finds out I have an Egyptian’s kaa trapped in my mirror…_

 

“Can I call you Yami?” he asked hesitantly. That at least wouldn't inspire undue curiosity. The spirit seemed to ponder the word, mouthed it to himself, silent beyond the glass. After a moment, he nodded slowly. Yugi grinned at him and was surprised when an answering smile tugged at the stranger’s lips.  
He blushed and glanced away, gaze falling on the golden pyramid that rested against his chest. Curiously fingering one edge, Yugi listened to the birds quietening outside his window. Strange, that almost as soon as he’d solved the puzzle, this… Yami, had shown up in his mirror with apparently no memory, and no way to leave…

 

Yugi sat up straight and stared at the puzzle. Or more particularly, the hieroglyphs on its side. _Kkw_ was there, right near the end.

 

_Couldn’t be. Things like that don’t happen in real life, and_ definitely _not to me_. His very presence being contrary to that line of reasoning, the Egyptian spirit saw him frown and raised a curious eyebrow.

 

…

 

_Hol-y shit. There’s a mummy in my mirror._

 

Yugi fell back onto the floor and slapped his hands over his face. “Oh my god, what’m I going to _do_?” He dug his fingers into his hair and tugged at the strands habitually. “What if the school finds out I’ve got a ghost in my mirror?! What if the cops find out?! Eh, I can’t do this! I’m supposed to be studying for my Egypt… olo… gy.” Yugi sat up so fast he felt dizzy. Yami jerked a little and blinked at him. _There’s an Egyptian spirit in my mirror._

 

Yami might know the location of any number of undiscovered tombs! He could tell him everything modern archaeologists were still unaware of! Yugi could become the first Egyptologist to discover the _actual_ pronunciation of Old Egyptian! Yugi blinked big starry eyes at the thought of the sheer volume of things Yami could tell him about ancient Egypt.

 

Ah, except…

 

“You can’t talk.” Adrenaline leaving as fast as it had come, Yugi’s body sagged despondently. He looked up at the mirror with a gentle smile. “Ah, never mind. It was a nice thought.” _Well, what am I going to do with him, then? We can’t just sit here staring at each other._

 

The spirit looked concerned: he pressed a hand up against his side of the mirror and Yugi saw the faint lines on his palm. Yugi blinked. _He really is… human, isn’t he?_ Smile widening, Yugi touched the pads of his fingers to the palm of the spirit’s hand, and began to tell him about his day.


	3. Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

 

Since then the puzzle had taken a prominent position in Yugi’s day to day life. He kept it on his desk close to the mirror. It was the first thing he picked up after schoo: immediately he'd greet Yami and proceed to wax lyrical on anything and everything, from his classes and friends to Grandpa’s latest battle with the DVD player.

 

Every day he’d go to school, do his homework and practice his lessons, and every night he poured his soul out to the silent figure in the mirror. Keku, Yami - whatever he was - sat in silence and listened to his every word. Sometimes Yugi just sat there with him, a companionable silence falling between them like autumn leaves, and sometimes Yami didn’t even show, but whenever Yugi felt a tinge of loneliness, the spirit was there. As a result, Yugi found he was spending more and more time seated in the corner of his room talking to his mirror.

 

Despite being an unwitting mute, Yugi had discovered that the spirit was more than able to communicate, usually with the use of his graceful hands and those expressive eyes. He’d also, Yugi found, displayed an eager thirst for knowledge. Yugi had spent almost two hours hunched over a map as he explained the location of each brightly coloured country and its political position in relation to Egypt.

 

Currently, Yugi lay surrounded by books on Ancient Egypt; anything and everything he could dig up from Sugoroku’s study. Still enthusiastic in spite of the waning interest pouring off the spirit, Yugi flicked through his well-worn McDowell, looking for something new he could entice the spirit with. Although Yami had no problem understanding him - Yugi didn’t understand quite how it worked, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth - written kanji were apparently incomprehensible. He paused at the chapter for religion.

 

“What about this…?” He held the book up against the glass and tapped the image. “Apparently it’s a dream book from Deir el-Medina. Classical though, so it might be older.” With a long-suffering air, Yami got on his hands and knees and peered at the script. He raised an eyebrow. “Can you understand it?” Yugi asked anxiously. Rolled eyes and a weary nod produced a faint blush. “Sorry,” Yugi muttered, closing the book and clutching it to his chest. “It’s just… you know…” Yami was looking at him with a kind of fond smile, and Yugi could almost hear his chuckle. He laughed, throwing the book aside. “Ok, we can do something else. Umm…” He rubbed the back of his head, struggling to think of something that would amuse a three thousand year old Egyptian spirit. “How about a game?” Yami lit up like an eighty watt bulb. He blinked. “Woah, ok, guess that’s a yes?” Glancing at his room, he winced at the sight of a stuffed Kuriboh propped drunkenly against his pillow. Never mind that he’d had it since he was twelve, the toy suddenly seemed juvenile. “Well, we can’t play anything with dice…” Casually he poked it off the bed. “Or video games. Twenty questions is out,” he muttered, sliding a deck of cards from his bag. “Duel Monsters it is!”

 

x

 

"Yami." Papers cascaded onto his desk as Yugi tossed his essay aside. A bright red 'A' was hidden under timetables and wonky geometric shapes. Duel Monster cards lay scattered on the floor, in the same position Yugi had left them last night. "Okay, I've finished, now can we play?" he whined. Yami rolled his eyes but curled his legs under him obligingly. Over the past week or so Yami had swiftly become familiar with the foundations of Yugi's life, and had become as strict as Sugoroku when it came to homework.

 

Yugi picked up the cards to remind himself of his hand. The spirit's hand was set up on a plastic scrabble stand facing the mirror. It hadn't taken long to familiarise Yami with the rules; he had a surprising aptitude for games of any kind, and Yugi found himself pleasantly challenged by the other boy's skill.

 

Pursing his lips Yugi hesitated over his hand. Summoned Skull, Witty Phantom, Trap Hole, Fissure and Ansatsu. "I lay this card face down, and end my turn," he said, placing the trap card on its designated space on the game mat. His Gaia Knight was already on the board, facing a Celtic Guardian and Feral Imp. Yami's eyes sparked and Yugi grinned as he recognised that competitive gleam.

 

After a few minutes of thought, Yami tapped the glass over the card furthest to the left. Yugi picked it up without looking at it and gazed at him questioningly. One slender finger pointed up and rotated clockwise in a code Yugi had spent all of thirty seconds thinking up. He put it face up in attack position and whistled as he recognised Black Lustre Soldier. He removed Yami's two monsters and tossed them into his graveyard. "I lose… two thousand one hundred life points," he murmured, noting it down on a sheet of paper at his side. He transferred Gaia to his discard pile. "Sorry I'm late; it rained earlier, so I cut through the park on my way home," he began, speaking absently as Yami listened silently. "We went to the arcade for a bit - Anzu got us all on Dance Dance Revolution.” Yugi smiled a bit at the memory. “It was bad. Really, really bad. Honda fell off the mat, Jounouchi flipped over the rail - I still don‘t know how - tripped some other guy and got into a fight. I…” He shook his head. “I was too slow, ended up on the floor covered in sweets and God knows what else.” Anzu had tried to jump over him, failed and rolled off the mat. Yugi chuckled. “It was a disaster. Then there was this sparrow in the park - been got by a cat or something - feathers were all torn up and it couldn‘t fly." He drew another card and picked two from his hand. "I play Giant Soldier of Stone in defence mode, and this card face down. Anyway, the rain was soaking it so I climbed a tree and put it back in a nest so the cats couldn't pick it up. Poor thing was terrified," he added. Looking up, he caught a wave of gentle affection in Yami’s eyes. Then the spirit gestured again and Yugi focussed on the game, fighting down a light blush.

 

x

 

His body _ached_. Yugi sat on the bed surrounded by tissue and clutching a bottle of TCP. Gingerly he pressed a soaked piece to his face, wincing when the bruise stung like fire. He sat in the dim light from his desk lamp, enduring the tingle for a moment before he dabbed at another cut on his lip. “Ouch,” he muttered against the tissue. “Nnn, that hurts.” Ushio had managed to grab him after school, artfully manoeuvring him into an alley out of sight. Yugi _would_ have given him his lunch money, except he’d taken a bento to school and he’d eaten it _at lunch_ , four hours _before_ Ushio had caught him. The bully had not been pleased, and had taken his frustration out on Yugi’s face and ribs. “Bastard,” Yugi mumbled apathetically.

 

 _If my face looks like this_ , Yugi thought, glancing at the mirror - thankfully empty, _then I hate to think what the rest of me looks like._

 

He wanted to don the puzzle and bemoan to Yami the uselessness of being five foot one and - uh, wiry - instead of five ten and built - but he really didn’t want to face the spirit bleeding from three places on his face. Yugi sighed. The gods of Fortune had not been with him today - Sugoroku had seen him as he snuck back into the house, and was currently on the phone cancelling his trip to a conference in Tokyo. Yugi did not want Yami making as much fuss. It was only a couple of little bruises, after all.

 

He stood up and nearly dropped the TCP as his ribs screamed. Alright, so a couple of BIG bruises then. Yugi hobbled to the bathroom. He could hear Sugoroku downstairs, explaining about his little injured grandson, who faced terrible danger at school due to his tiny stature, great mind and effeminate bone structure. Yugi snorted. He wondered if Sugoroku was adding the “superior intelligence” so his grandson wouldn’t seem as wimpy to his Tokyo colleagues. “Effeminate my ass,” he mumbled, closing the door and sitting cautiously on the toilet seat. He drew up his shirt and noted with relief that there were only a few mottled bruises on his chest and stomach. They would purple up nicely but they didn’t look too bad. He wrapped them tightly, just in case, and downed a couple of aspirin from the medicine cabinet.

 

Sighing, he leant back against the cistern and just sat for a minute. He hadn’t been… _bullied_ in a couple of weeks, he’d forgotten what the pain felt like. The dull edge of loneliness and inadequacy that came with it. He wasn’t stunningly intelligent, Yugi acknowledged, his eyes flickering over the tiles on the wall opposite, just small and geeky. He liked card games, and that was good enough to be a crime in Ushio’s book. _Enough to warrant punishment, anyway,_ Yugi thought bitterly, hoisting his sore body off the toilet. He stumbled back out, only to meet Sugoroku on the stairs.

 

“Yugi, are you alright?” the old man asked, hand outstretched as if he wanted to hug him but wasn’t quite sure. “Do you want dinner?”

 

Yugi managed a reassuring smile. “No, thanks, Grandpa. It looks worse than it is. I think I’m just going to go to bed early. Get some rest,” he said, hoping to play to his paternal instincts.

 

“Of course.” Sugoroku patted him on his shoulder, not quite able to reach him for a full hug. “If you need anything…”

 

“I will.” Yugi waved him goodnight. “I’m just tired.” He saw Sugoroku turn back down the stairs as he shut the door to his bedroom.

 

Yugi got into his pyjamas with short, stifled movements, and sat on the floor. The light was anything but flattering, so he left the small lamp on. It helped to hide the darker shadows on his face. He stuck his tongue out at the rapturous Kuriboh dancing around on his flannel nightwear and pulled the duvet around his shoulders. Finally he slipped the cord of the pyramid over his neck. When he looked up, Yami was already there, sitting cross-legged across from him in the mirror. He smiled and the spirit smiled benevolently back.

 

“I had a bit of a rough day,” Yugi admitted. Yami frowned and leaned forward. By the way his body tightened Yugi guessed he hadn’t been as adept at hiding his mottled face as he thought he‘d been. Yami reached out a hand, its thumb and index finger pointed towards Yugi and the other three fingers curled towards himself. He directed Yugi’s head up and to the side, as easily as if they had been touching. Yugi watched as the spirit’s lips curled back and he bared his teeth.

 

“I’m okay,” Yugi said, hurriedly trying to placate him. “He just - I wasn’t expecting - I’m fine,” he said again, realising that bringing Ushio up wouldn’t help anyone. Yami sat back but didn’t seem appeased. Little frown lines had appeared between his brows, and they weren’t going away. Yugi twined his hands in the duvet and searched for something innocuous to say. “The school’s starting applications to university,” he offered to the silent figure. “There’s going to be so much competition for Waseda, I’ll be lucky to get in, but Tsuruoka-san says that, since I’ve upped my grades, I’ve got a chance. And there’s not as many students after Egyptology as there is for stuff like science and literature. As long as I can get some more A grades on my essays…” Yugi shrugged a little. Those little lines were easing. “I’ve pretty much given up on math. I can do Egyptian cubits, though.” Yami’s lips quirked up at the sides. Not quite a smile. “’Course I’ll have to bring this with me,” he added, nodding at the golden frame of the mirror. “Can’t leave it here with Grandpa, he’ll probably steal it and put it in the bathroom.” They both shuddered at the thought of Sugoroku checking himself out in the nude.

 

Silence reigned for a moment and Yugi snuck a glance at the mirror. Yami was staring off into the distance somewhere but he looked calm. The thought of Yami getting angry for him, though, gave him a warm, fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. Which was stupid, Yugi told himself, because Yami lived in his _mirror_.

 

Finally he tucked his duvet around himself and curled up on the floor at the foot of the mirror. The puzzle rested next to him, glinting in the low light. For some reason Yugi did not want to analyse just yet, he felt more comfortable here on the floor than in his bed. Yami turned and touched the mirror over his head fleetingly, a simple sweet blessing. The action triggered a blissful smile. “G’night, Yami.”

 

x

 

 

 


	4. Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

 

 

Yugi arched his back and pulled his arms over his head, pointing his toes and stretching the muscles in his torso and thighs. He stretched out to the left and then to the right, sighing finally as his back clicked into place. Happily aware that it was Saturday at, uh - ten thirty, according to the irritable Dark Magician clock beside his bed - he didn’t have a shift until this afternoon, and he had no homework. That couldn’t wait, anyway.

 

He lay spread-eagled under his duvet where his limbs had flopped, diagonal to the bed with his head half under a pillow. A whole lot of obnoxious sunlight was pouring in through his window and a pair of birds had started chattering excitedly outside. _Little bastards._ Yugi spent a few half-hearted minutes thinking of ways to shut them up. Distantly, beyond the chirping, he heard the door of the game shop swing open and some random kids yelling. He groaned and threw an arm over his eyes. “Does no one understand the point of Saturdays anymore?” he asked the room. It stayed, predictably, silent.

 

Yugi shifted again and became aware that one part of himself was more than awake. The lazy bubble around him kept his mind hazily alert in that way only a lot of sleep can achieve. He dragged a hand down his stomach - the bruises were fading nicely, he noted absently - concentrating on the heat of his body and the scrape of the sheets on his skin. Yugi dipped a finger under the waistband of his pyjamas, stroking his hip and teasing himself, lightly clawing his thigh then moving back up again.

 

Finally he wriggled out of his cotton trousers and pushed them out from under the duvet onto the floor. The harsher material of the duvet chafed at his cock and Yugi sighed. He spread his legs and lifted his knees a little, planting his feet flat on the bed. Crystal clear images drifted through his head, hovering as he considered each fantasy. First Anzu, on her knees with her tits in her hands and moaning for his cock. That had been a favourite a few weeks ago, but today it just didn’t cut it. Yugi closed his eyes and thought of Seto in his suit, fucking her over the teacher’s desk. Seto licked his lips, smirking, and that made his cock jump a little. He ran a finger lightly against the vein in his cock and shivered. Anzu riding Seto, making little squealing noises as her tits bounced with each thrust. Yugi wrapped a hand around himself. Anzu being fucked up against a window, nipples pressed against the glass as Yami grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.

 

Yugi opened his eyes.

 

He lay there for a moment, breathing quickly, not moving. His mind skittered over the fantasy, trying to fix it and bring Seto back, but Yami slammed a hand against the glass and grinned at him. Yugi glanced at the mirror skittishly. It was empty. His toes curled into the mattress. In his mind Anzu started pleading and Yami fucked her in short, sharp thrusts without looking at her. Yugi stroked a hand down his cock once or twice and had to bite back a whimper.

 

Then he hesitated. To all appearances, Yami couldn’t show up without the puzzle around his neck; he hadn’t ever seen Yami there without it, and at the moment the mirror stood silent and empty on the wall by his bed, but who knew when Yami was watching? Yugi stole his hand away from cock and tried to catch his breath. It just didn’t feel right, doing… _that_ , in his own room. He threw another glance at the mirror. Not to mention the idea of getting caught by the spirit - apart from stoking the heat in his groin - would be beyond humiliating.

 

No, he couldn’t do it. Yugi dragged on his pyjamas and crept into the bathroom. He stopped dead at the sight of the small bathroom cabinet with its square mirror. What if Yami could get into any of the mirrors in the house?! Yugi gulped. He took _showers_ in here; he walked around soaking wet and naked as the day he was born.

 

Sidestepping around the edge of the bathroom, Yugi chucked off his clothes and ducked into the shower, a blush sweeping down his neck.

 

Only when he’d turned the shower on and pulled the curtains closed did he feel safe. “This is so stupid,” he muttered, lathering his body with tea tree and eucalyptus. A three thousand year old spirit inhabited his mirror and he was worried about jerking off?

 

Well, if he was being completely honest - and Yugi tried to be, most of the time - it was more the thought of jerking off _to Yami_ that had him freaking out. His motions slowed, became caresses. Although that little fantasy had been… quite good, really. A bit more… lurid, than usual. Yugi bit his lip and pinched his nipple. It wasn’t hard to bring up the image again, and in the safety of the shower he closed his eyes and let his hands pull and rub at his cock.

 

Anzu pressed herself against the glass and panted with her mouth open. Yami gripped her ass with one hand, squeezing and spreading it. He scraped his teeth over her shoulder and bit down, hard. With each thrust into her he pounded her harder against the mirror. He shoved his fingers into her mouth and she sucked them, moaning over and over again. Yami fucked him hard and fast, his hips slamming against his ass, and he _loved_ it, begging him for more -

 

Yugi groaned as sheer, sharp pleasure had him shuddering and coming over his hands. The water soaked his hair and sluiced him clean. He let it soothe his trembling body and very carefully did not think about the spirit in the mirror.

 

 

x

 

 

Quickly Yugi shuffled his deck into order and kicked his dirty underwear behind the bed. Anzu didn’t seem to notice. She knelt in the middle of the room with her bag at her side. “Okay,” she said. “Wow, nice bed.” Yugi grinned nervously and sat opposite her. His sheets were violet and silver, covered in geometric designs - he’d had to buy new ones since Yami, as his Duel Monsters sheets had been… unacceptable. “So, get started?”

 

He nodded a reply, pulling out his notes. “Sure. Grandpa’ll probably be up with tea or something later, just to be sure we’re doing it right.” Actually to be sure they weren’t making out, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. He lay the passage on the floor in front of them, covered in doodles, his attempted translation beside it. Anzu did the same. “Right. How did you start? I wasn’t sure if ‘He had crossed the river’ was past perfect or passive.”

 

“I think it’s pluperfect,” Anzu muttered. “Of action, though, not state, since he’s doing something.”

 

“Oh okay, that makes more sense.” Yugi jotted down the grammar above the English words and then on his Japanese translation.

 

“What does this word mean, though?” She pointed to a word three lines down.

 

“Uh.” He checked his translation. “Invitation, I think. No wait, it’s invite ‘cause it’s a verb.” They went through the passage achingly slowly, checking each English word with their translations and occasionally with Sugoroku when neither of them knew it. After an hour, they were flagging, and Sugoroku brought them tea and manjyu. After two, they started flagging again, argued about the usefulness of learning English, and gave up on the translation.

 

“Actually, I’ll have to learn Arabic _and_ English _and_ hieroglyphs _and_ German, so I’ll have it worse off.” Anzu raised an eyebrow at him. “A lot of Egyptologists write in English or German. Or French.”

 

“Ah,” and she poked a finger at him. “But you only need to be able to _read_ those, you don’t need to _speak_ it _everyday_.”

 

Yugi frowned. “You don’t have to -”

 

“Uh, I will if I move to America.” A touch of sadness flickered over her face for a moment.

 

“Oh. You’re still thinking about that?” He knew she’d been considering it, with the entrance exams on the horizon, but he had thought there were enough dance schools in Japan without the expensive travelling costs.

 

“I talked to Tsuruoka-san, and he said that if I take a year out, I can work, earn enough money for the fees, and that plus my savings should pay for it.” Anzu shrugged a little. “It should be fun - I mean, America, it’s… unbelievable.” She did smile, then.

 

“Of course. And if it’s what you want…” He knew he’d go anywhere, move anywhere, if it meant he could study Egyptology like Sukoroku. Another thought occurred to him. “What did your dad say?”

 

The girl shook her head, grinning wryly. “The usual - there are great schools in Japan, it’s so expensive, so far, so dangerous… you know Dad.”

 

Yugi laughed. “Right, meaning he’s going to miss you like hell.”

 

“Exactly.” She ate one of the last red bean cakes and grinned at Yugi. “Anyway, what about you? How’s Sugoroku-san feeling about you jetting off to Tokyo?”

 

“Not great,” Yugi admitted. “He didn’t say much, but you can tell, you know?” Anzu nodded sympathetically.

 

“Life would be so much easier without parents,” she muttered, shaking her head. Then her face brightened. “Hey, isn’t that the puzzle you were working on?” Yugi froze.

 

“Eh?” he said weakly.

 

Anzu crawled over to his side and dug out the pyramid from under the bed. She sat with her back to the mirror to inspect it in the light. “This is the one Jounouchi stole, isn’t it?”

 

Heart going a terrified mile a minute, Yugi nodded and reached out for it casually. “A piece, yeah. I just finished it a couple of weeks ago.”

“Cool.” She ignored him, turning the pyramid round to read the hieroglyphs. “It looks like real gold - it can’t be though, can it?”

 

“Uh, I… don’t really…” She picked up the gaudy shoelaces he’d tied to the hoop and giggled.

 

“Nice style, Yugi, really.” He managed a sort of self-deprecating grin. “Do you actually wear this thing?” Before he could stop her, she dropped the puzzle around his neck.

 

His gaze flew to the mirror. Yugi saw his own stricken face reflected back at him, and behind that, the tall figure of Yami.

 

_Oh shit._

 

Yami saw him first, and Yugi watched as his eyes alighted on Anzu, kneeling in front of him. A dark expression crossed the spirit’s face. Anzu was holding the pyramid against his chest, looking closely at the eye on the front, and Yami glared at her. By a series of complicated faces and half shrugs, Yugi tried to convey the fact that she’d only touched the puzzle a little, and had no idea what she was doing. It didn’t seem to make a difference.

 

Anzu sat back, apparently satisfied. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t look too bad, eh Yugi?” Yugi blinked, caught with his tongue curled up under his lip. Anzu turned around to look at the mirror. Yami drew himself up and stared down at her. She turned back, face bemused. “What are you doing?”

 

 _Eh?_ He pointed to the mirror. “I was - um - don’t you…?” Anzu’s expression was expectant, but normal. “I was - just - messing around,” he said, making an oblique gesture and hoping he looked sheepish. _She can’t see him?_

 

“Oh.” She gave him a weird look. “Okay. Maybe I should… get going.”

 

“Um, yeah, it is getting late.” It was, thankfully. Shadows were skulking in from the corners and the sky was going dark. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, getting up.

 

“Sure. Don’t forget that,” nodding to their assignment. Anzu threw her bag over her shoulder. She waved him off when Yugi went to show her out. “Don’t worry, I know the way. I’d rather creep out the back than have Sugoroku make you walk me home again.” She grinned. “Funny though it was. See you later, Yugi.”

 

“Bye, Anzu,” Yugi grinned back, watching as she ran down the stairs and out through the kitchen. The door slammed, and Sugoroku came tottering in.

 

“Was that Anzu?” the old man asked.

 

“Yeah.” Yugi leant out the door, snickering quietly. “She said bye.”

 

Sugoroku scratched his head. “Mm. She really shouldn’t be walking home alone. Young girl, dark streets…”

 

“Uh, see you later, Grandpa,” Yugi called out hastily and shut his bedroom door.

 

His notes still lay scattered on the floor by his bed, and Yami still stood glaring in the mirror. The spirit had his arms crossed, and was directing his furious gaze at the door Yugi had just closed. _Now what’s his problem?_ he thought irritably. _She couldn’t even see him._

 

He sat in front of the mirror, the pyramid resting happily in his lap. “I didn’t mean for her to see it,” he said hesitantly. “She just picked it up and put it on. It was an accident…?” It didn‘t seem to pacify him. “She only came over to check some school work we were doing in class. I won’t let her come over again,” he added. At that Yami looked down and seemed to deflate. The spirit shook his head, finally, and sat down. His expression, when he glanced at Yugi, was normal, only the little frown lines between his brows were more pronounced than usual. Yugi raised an eyebrow at him, quite tempted to ask if he was feeling alright, but positive that was a stupid question. He said it anyway.

 

Yami looked at him for a moment, obviously surprised at the question. Then a small smile tugged at his lips and he shrugged ruefully. “Not bad?” Yugi hazarded. Yami shrugged again and nodded. Then he shook his head. Ah, Yugi knew that feeling. “Weird,” he said. Yami tilted his head, then nodded again slowly. “You _are_ trapped in my mirror,” he reminded the spirit. “It’s probably normal.” Yami smiled but shook his head. His expression was one of fond amusement, like Yugi was being a sweet but total idiot. He dismissed it with a mental shrug. “Want to play Duel Monsters?” Yami frowned at him. “What? I can’t go to bed yet, I haven’t even had dinner! One game,” he said, at Yami’s look. “Promise.” The spirit rolled his eyes but, when he saw the deck Yugi had constructed for him, conceded quickly.

 

 

x

 

 

... I apologise. I didn't mean for Yugi to end up as such a... tits pervert. It just sort of... happened. Um, yeah. ^^

 

 

 


	5. Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

 

“Damn fucking Pseudo-Verbal,” Yugi hissed as he ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. Copious notes lay spread out in front of him where he lay on his front on the floor, with a Japanese copy of Gardiner’s Grammar that Sugoroku had owned. The puzzle rested on the floor, attached by those brassy shoelaces to his neck. In the mirror, Yami quirked an eyebrow at his language.

 

Yugi flicked over his notes and ignored him. “R of futurity, plus infinitive means it’s going to happen, or inevitable… Why do you even need this anyway?” he muttered to Yami. “The vowel thing is bad enough as it is.” The spirit merely smiled at him beatifically. _Bastard_ , Yugi thought with a glance at the mirror. He attempted the exercises that his grandfather had given him before the man had toddled off to bed - and that had Sugoroku’s confused notes in the corner - but after a while his attempts turned to doodling.

 

Yugi cupped his head in his hand and sighed. Yami seemed content to watch him, and soon Yugi had forgotten he was there. Jounouchi had played Duel Monsters with him at lunch yesterday, and Yugi had beaten him, of course. He was starting to find that only Yami was able to provide him with a true challenge. He only wished they could communicate properly, without that glass barrier. Suddenly the image of that fantasy darted into his mind. Yugi shivered. _Sure, ‘communicate’. I just bet I know how you’re going to communicate,_ came the satirical observation. He tried to shake it away, but the scene wouldn’t go. Anzu had always appeared in his fantasies - she was his only true female friend, and he’d had a crush on her for years. Seto was a blank and could be manipulated easily. _Yami…_ Yami had only been in his mirror a couple of weeks, but already he could think of nothing except for the spirit.

 

The Yami in his head had been aggressive and domineering - Yugi wondered if that was a true portrayal, or if his own perception and the fantasy’s had twisted the spirit’s personality. When Yami played games with him, or listened to him, he seemed friendly and sympathetic - more gentle, Yugi supposed. The doodles on his page had turned to sketching the pyramid and a pair of narrow eyes, and now his pen rested on the paper as he gazed unseeing at the text. Yami would be assertive, Yugi thought, but compassionate. He would spend hours kissing and licking his partner - Yugi gave into temptation and imagined himself in the spirit’s hands - into subservience, perhaps restraining his hands or hips when it became too much. Then he would tease, mouthing at the sides of Yugi’s cock and sucking on his balls. Eventually, when Yugi was shuddering and ready, he would slide his fingers in, tenderly at first, then rougher as Yugi arched and begged for it.

 

Yugi realised he was breathing heavily and his body was having a definite reaction to his thoughts. He froze. _Shit._ Yami was still in the mirror, watching him curiously. _Oh shit._ Yugi glanced around furtively. He was lying on his front in the middle of the room - he couldn’t get up without Yami noticing. Yugi squirmed uncomfortably, but the friction only made his situation worse. The spirit looked attentive, now, as if he’d realised Yugi was acting weirdly. _Shit shit SHIT._ He had to get out of the room.

 

Like a gift from god, one of his pillows lay in a haphazard heap a few inches from his knee. Yugi dragged it up to his hips and stood slowly, keeping his pelvis turned away and the pillow between it and Yami. “I’m uh… just going to…” He tried to stand up straight as he stuttered, but the pressure in his groin was intense. The pyramid bumped against his chest and he realised he could just take it off. His fingers tightened on the pillow. No, he’d already told Yami he wanted his help to check over the exercises - it would be a rejection, Yugi theorised, ignoring how foolish that sounded. Besides, he didn’t _like_ taking it off. “I’m going to the bathroom,” he finished, looking up. Yami had stood with him, and was staring at him fiercely. The spirit shook his head. Yugi drew the pillow to him. “No?” he said weakly.

 

Yami made a sweeping gesture and mouthed something at him, sketching it on the glass. _Betj sw._ It took a minute for Yugi to grasp the meaning; _drop it._ Gulping, Yugi found he couldn’t disobey; his face felt like it was on fire, but he dropped the pillow.

 

The spirit’s eyes widened and Yugi trembled. “Sorry,” he mumbled. Gods, this was so embarrassing - Yami could see every inch of him outlined by the cotton. He looked away, felt the humiliation burning his cheeks seep down his body. With the longing of desperation, he prayed for a crevasse to open up in his bedroom floor. His imagination couldn’t take the silence, and he risked a glance up.

 

Yami was looking at him with an expression that Yugi’d never seen before, not on anyone. Dark crimson eyes stared at him from beyond the mirror’s surface, hot yet at the same time coolly assessing. The spirit tilted his head back regally, a wicked smirk forming on his mouth. Then, achingly slow, Yami licked his lips.

 

Yugi gasped as the action sent a hot flush through his whole body. Those eyes raked over him and he shivered despite himself.

 

Yami lifted a hand and crooked his finger in a beckoning motion. Sucking in a sharp breath, Yugi padded towards the mirror, wincing as the material of his trousers dragged over sensitive skin. He stopped a bare inch away, unable to do anything but stand there and tremble. "Y-Yami,” he whispered.

 

Yami placed his hand on the glass, curved, like he was cupping the other boy’s face. Shyly, Yugi turned into the phantom caress and peered at the spirit from beneath his eyelashes. Yami’s lips quirked but didn’t form a smile. His hand flattened on the glass and with the other he traced a line down over Yugi‘s short sleeved top. His eyes flickered up to Yugi’s face, a voiceless command. Dutifully, Yugi pulled it off and tossed it aside. The air was warm but his nipples were already tight and rigid. Again Yami ran a hand down and Yugi followed, wriggling out of his trousers and underwear. Only when he stood naked did he hesitate. He chanced another look at the spirit and gulped. Yami’s crimson eyes were almost black and his tanned skin had flushed to an even darker tone.

 

Yami’s hands roamed over the glass, following the curves and angles of the other boy’s body. Yugi arched into them as if he could feel their touch. He chased the trail with his own hands, plucking at his caramel nipples and scraping his nails over the line of his hip. With each light stroke his cock quivered, already hard and curving towards his belly. Yami leant his forehead against the mirror and watched as Yugi’s fingers danced towards it. The spirit was panting, that much was obvious, but his breath made no mark on the glass.

 

Using feather-light touches, Yugi stroked the underside of his cock and circled the head. He dragged a hand down its length, achingly slow, then back up. At the feel of Yami’s fascinated eyes on his body, he felt confident and daring - _wanton_. He bit his lip - something he swore he’d never do if he had an audience - and let his eyes go half-lidded and dazed as he touched himself. The spirit bent lower, his lips parted and, Yugi saw, his trousers stretched tight over an identical erection. Pleasure zipped along his nerves and he moaned. His hand sped up automatically.

 

_… imi tw en i…_

 

Then Yami leaned forward and dragged his tongue -his _tongue_ , oh _God_ \- against the glass where Yugi’s cock would be. Yugi choked. “Oh my _god_ , Yami!” He slid to his knees and Yami followed, pressing up against the mirror with an expression so raw and hungry it made Yugi arch against his hand and cry out.

 

“Yami - god, _Yami_ …” Gasps and tiny cries fell from his lips though Yugi tried hard to muffle them. Yami was unbuttoning his own pants, watching him and touching himself. The sight of his tanned fingers closing around that half-hidden column of flesh triggered a blinding flash of pleasure and Yugi came, thrusting his hips forward and desperately sucking in air. Ecstasy flooded his brain, seeping through him to the exclusion of everything else.

 

He came back to earth gradually, opening his eyes to see Yami shudder. Yugi watched, fascinated, as the spirit fisted himself frantically and came with parted lips and closed eyes. _He_ ’d done that. _He_ ’d made Yami pant and arch and come.

 

They stared at each other in silence until finally Yugi managed a shaky smile. Yami returned it, his posture easing as he sat back. Shifting, Yugi flinched at the sensation of moist warmth spattered liberally across his chest. The spirit, too, was sprayed with evidence of their mutual climax and Yugi had to bite his lip to suppress an idiotic grin.

 

A smirk curled Yami’s lips and sent bright colour winging across the other boy’s face. Too drained to get up, Yugi used his top to wipe himself down. He pulled down his blanket and lay on his side by the mirror. Yami smiled at him, his eyes gentle and kind. Yugi blushed and smiled back.

 

x

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> betj sw = translit: bT sw - lit: Abandon it.
> 
> imi tw en i = translit: imi tw n i - Give yourself to me.


	6. Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

After that night any barriers between them were shattered. Passion proved too strong a temptation to resist; they did it again and again, silently in the sunlight as Sugoroku sat downstairs, furtively in the middle of the night with the moon casting shadows on the floor. Yugi was addicted; every day he waited only to see the waves of passion crest in Yami’s eyes. He didn’t think about the mirror that lay between them, as solid as a brick wall, only that when they were together, nothing else mattered.

 

"Yugi! Hold on!" The boy veered to a stop, cramming a slice of toast in his mouth. "I have a conference this weekend in Tokyo, so I'll be away from Friday to Sunday night - is that alright?" Yugi spared him an emphatic nod and raced out the door. He was late, so late. He alternated between speed walking and running-as-though-his-life-depended-on-it and just made it to the genkan with enough time to change his shoes.

 

He stumbled through his classes until finally the lunch bell rang. Anzu met him in the corridor and they went outside to sit on the low wall by the grass for lunch. Yugi tore into his bento with relish - Sugoroku had given him chicken teriyaki, wasabi and a couple of onigiri. He swapped a rice parcel for one of Anzu’s pork dumplings.

 

“How tough was Mochizuki-sensei this morning?” Anzu sighed. “I’m sure I failed that test.” Yugi made a noncommittal noise, his mouth full of gyoza. “I swear it’s like his personal mission to fail all of us and have us drop out of his class so he can go shag Chono-sensei in the closet,” she said, stabbing at her food. Yugi snorted with laughter.

 

“God, I hope not, the image alone…” They both shuddered.

 

“Hey guys.” Jounouchi collapsed on the grass beside him and peered interestedly at his lunch. Honda stood with a hand in his pocket and offered a friendly wave.

 

“Hi, Jou, Honda. Don’t even think about it,” he added as the blond made a furtive pass at his bento.

 

“Yeah, man, make your own, ya lazy ass.” Honda sat down, settling his long legs out of the way.  
Anzu smiled at them both. “Hey. Haven’t seen you two in a while. Detention again?”

 

Jou scowled. “Is it our fault ol’ Chono can’t take a joke about her face? Seriously, that woman has issues.”

 

“Your badgering her probably isn’t helping,” Anzu reprimanded.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Jou flicked her concerns away. “Worked out alright, anyway; I got Tsuruoka to give me a cleaning job after school.”

 

“That’s great, Jou,” Yugi exclaimed, and the others chorused their agreement. Anzu snapped her fingers suddenly.

 

“Oh, right, I forgot! Yugi, did you manage to get that research from Sugoroku-san? It‘d really help me out for that essay,” she pleaded.

 

“Ah…" Yugi lowered his eyes guiltily. “Uh, yeah, almost. Just a few more things to look up.” He’d meant to last night, really, but something kept distracting him. The something having wanted attention, and used underhanded methods to get it. Yugi would have thought it easy to ignore one person trapped in a mirror, but when that person began running a hand over his chest and licking his lips, he found himself hard pressed to pay attention to anything else. Of course Yami made the little distraction more than worth his while; just those eyes on him sent Yugi deeper into rapture than he’d ever thought possible.

 

Something jolted Yugi from his daydreams and he blinked. “Huh?”

 

Jou rolled his eyes and pointed to a tall, dark-haired figure that was just passing out of sight. “Kaiba. Said he had a dildo up his ass the size of Tokyo Tower.”

 

“Ah.” Yugi blushed. Mind full of dark eyes and full lips, that image held whole new possibilities. “Sure.”

 

“Or maybe he needs one,” Honda suggested, stretching languidly on the grass.

 

Jou tilted his head thoughtfully. “Heh, yeah that might get him to loosen up a bit - uh, no pun intended. Hey, Anzu, coul’ we borrow one of your vibrators?”

 

“Jounouchi!” The girl slapped his foot off the wall, her face flushing.

 

“Sorry, sorry,” the blond grinned, looking not in the least repentant. “But could we?”

 

“Jou! I do not have vibrators!”

 

“Who has vibrators?” Otogi leaned over them with a curious look.

 

“Hi, Otogi,” Yugi greeted him, still a pale red but determined to be polite.

 

“Hey, Yugi. Who has vibrators?”

 

“Anzu,” Jou declared with a lazy wave of his hand. She hit him again.

 

“I do not! Stop saying that!” Jou grinned, unruffled, and Honda was cracking up beside him. Yugi swallowed a laugh and frowned at the boys.

 

“Guys, stop.”

 

“Aw, Yug, don’t be mean. We only need one.” That earned a shriek and another slap. “For Kaiba,” he explained, and Otogi’s expression cleared.

 

“Ah. I see.”

 

“Guys,” Yugi said sternly. “You can’t borrow Anzu’s vibrators -”

 

Green eyes sparkling, Otogi pursed his lips as he interrupted. “Oh? Why’s that? Have you been borrowing Anzu’s vibrators again, Yugi?” he said with the voice of a scolding teacher. Yugi made a sound like a boiled kettle and felt his upper body go scarlet.

 

“Yugi! How could you, when Kaiba’s obviously in need?” asked Jou reproachfully.

 

“Uh -”

 

“Unless you’ve been sharing?” Otogi’s bright eyes travelled speculatively towards Anzu’s blushing figure.

 

“ _Yugi_! You _dog_!”

 

“I -” Yugi tried desperately to bury himself in his jacket while Anzu rolled long-suffering eyes and thumped Jou solidly on the leg.

 

“I hope you got pictures,” Otogi smirked and only another voice saved Yugi from the thought of a dark mirror and darker eyes.

 

“Um, do I want to know what’s going on?”

 

“Ryou!” Enthusiastically Jou tugged him into their perverted circle. “You’ll never believe this - shut up, Honda - Anzu’s been lending her vibrators to Yugi. But they‘re not telling us if it’s a joint thing or what. Or,” and here he pointed a finger at them both and raised his eyebrows. “… how many they're using.” Yugi choked.

 

“Eh?” The white-haired boy blinked his brown eyes dazedly. “What-… Vibrators?”

 

“Oh my god.” Anze slapped her hands to her hot cheeks. “This is so embarrassing. I do not have vibrators!”

 

“Why not?” Five heads swivelled to face him and Ryou paled as he realised what he’d implied. “Um, I mean-…”

 

“Oh my god!” Jou looked like all his Christmases had come at once. “You have your own, Ryou, or are you sharing Anzu’s too?” he asked in tones rippling with laughter.

 

“I - N-no, I didn’t -” His pale skin glowed and he waved his hands. “That’s not what I -”

 

A high ringing sound interrupted them and Yugi almost sighed with relief. Anzu grabbed her bag, still a light ruby colour. “You guys are _so_ gross. I‘m going to class.” Gratefully Yugi jumped up as well and the group parted ways, half of them grinning and the other half fighting down a decent blush.  
Trotting towards the main building, Yugi slung his backpack over his shoulder and tried to forget the conversation. Something about what Otogi had said, though, about taking pictures, was stuck in his mind. The thought of _watching_ someone do that…

 

Yugi ducked his head, biting his lip on a sly smile.

 

 _What would it be like_ , he wondered, _to do that for Yami?_

 

Heat flared in his groin and Yugi shivered eagerly. Suddenly he couldn’t wait to get home.

 

 

x

 

 

 

[1](http://dar-ota.livejournal.com/32899.html#cutid1) | [2](http://dar-ota.livejournal.com/33024.html#cutid1) | [3](http://dar-ota.livejournal.com/33496.html) | [4](http://dar-ota.livejournal.com/33613.html#cutid1) | [5](http://dar-ota.livejournal.com/34090.html#cutid1) || || [7](http://dar-ota.livejournal.com/34730.html)


	7. Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

 

 

It’d been a gift for his eighteenth; “so you can keep up with everyone in the city,” his grandfather had said, specks of sadness in his eyes. Yugi doubted he’d ever intended it for this purpose.

 

He swivelled so he faced the end of his bed - and the mirror - and so there was no way either his friend or his grandfather could accidentally spot the screen. Yugi opened a search engine, then hesitated. There was no way anyone could catch him, but it still felt guiltily wrong.

 

Unable to stop his cheeks from flaming, Yugi bit his lip on a hysterical giggle and typed in 'vibrators'. He blinked when the screen filled with pages and pages of results, most of them porn related. The first viable thing that came up was the _GPod_ , a dildo that hooked up to mobile phones or mp3 players and vibrated in time to the bass. "Uh, no," Yugi said, raising his eyebrows. “Not really feasible.”

 

Half a dozen Koi vibrators looked interesting but seemed to be specifically for women, so he moved on.  
There were so many! Curious, he clicked on one entitled _The Glide_. The window that popped up displayed a large picture of a huge, ribbed black object with two sinewy extensions coming from the base. The text read _"This male G Spot stimulator now ensures that the entire anal canal is stimulated and takes things to a whole new level"_. Face flaming Yugi hurriedly closed the window. He wouldn’t be able to fit that in his _mouth_ let alone anywhere else.

 

Another one promised ‘ripples of stimulating pleasure and a wild ride’ and was nearly bent in half. Way too confusing; Yugi passed on. ‘Nine inches, so realistic you’ll believe it’s the real thing!’ Just the sight of it turned Yugi off and he grimaced. He’d seen the real thing, thanks, and it wasn’t pale and wrinkly like that. An image flashed through his mind, of Yami the last time he’d come, head thrown back and hand curled around the dark head of his erection.

 

Hastily, Yugi clicked another thumbnail. This one was a string of small plastic beads attached to a ring. The site labelled them _Thai Love Beads_. Yugi clicked on something else; he didn’t want to know. Finally he found one that looked acceptable; a “trainer“ plug with a flared base. Yugi hesitated, thinking about what his friends would say if they could see him. His gaze slid to the mirror and with a determined frown he decided it was worth it.

 

Under suggested purchases along the side was a bottle called _Slide and Ride_ , "absolutely essential for anal explorations". After a moment of indecision Yugi added it to his basket.

 

A few minutes with the cursor and he was entering his card details (being over eighteen had definite benefits). If he ordered it on Special Delivery now it should come on Saturday, when he had the shop to himself and his grandfather was in Tokyo.

 

A silly, excited grin tugged at his lips. He couldn't believe he was actually going through with this but... he couldn't wait for Saturday.

 

x

 

The week dragged by in the way time only does when it knows it’s being a jerk. Yugi drummed his fingers on the counter. Saturday had finally come: his grandfather was in Tokyo, he’d effectively discouraged his friends from coming over, claiming work, and he’d even - Yugi blushed at the thought - been physically preparing himself each night this week. After a lot of research, he’d been persuaded to start early - and was glad of it. It had taken a lot of courage and a lot more saliva, but he was up to three fingers and pretty comfortable with it. Pretty _damn_ comfortable with it.

 

Another customer left his shop happy, and Yugi flipped forward in the gaming magazine he was reading. It was only ten, and the kids that were regulars at the weekend probably weren’t up yet, so the store was quiet. Yugi amused himself by reading the magazine and planning his attack on Yami. Usually, Yugi would chat about his day, this and that, and one thing just led to another. In this case, though, he didn’t think he could casually pull a butt plug from under his bed and just get on with it.

 

 _Either_ , Yugi thought, his elbows on the counter, _I can introduce it first and make it a feature_. He ran the scenario through once in his mind and decided he would come off blushing and virginal. _Not preferable_. The other option was to start on his own. _I can slip the puzzle on halfway through and see if he’s into it_ , he thought. _If he’s not, I can stop, or do something else, or whatever. If he is…_ If Yami was interested, he most definitely would _not_ stop.

 

Another customer came in, a teenager he’d seen once or twice before, and Yugi spent a few minutes explaining the Forbidden List in the new tournament that was coming up. The boy bought a couple of Duel Monsters booster packs and left. In his wake entered a delivery man with a brown, nondescript packet. Yugi leapt up with an excited grin.

 

The man hovered at the door. “Package for Yugi Muto?”

 

“That’s me.” Yugi signed for it - glad to see there was no hint of its contents on the label - and the man left. A couple of adults came in in after him, and Yugi quickly stashed the package behind the counter.  
The rest of the day kept him busy enough that he only gave it a passing thought. When five came, though, he locked up quickly and brought it into the house. Over a hasty dinner he went through his plan again, and eventually went upstairs, towing the packet with him.

 

For a while Yugi’d been sleeping on the floor by the mirror; at first simply to be able to talk to Yami whenever he could, but later so that Yami could see him clearly. When he entered, Yugi locked the door behind him. Sugoroku was away for the entire weekend, but he lived by the adage ‘better safe than sorry’.

 

His duvet was still on the floor where he’d left it, beside the puzzle, and he settled down on it, tearing into the packet. The receipt he tossed straight away. He inspected the bottle of _Slide and Ride_. It was blue, for some reason, and had a pump top. Curious, he squeezed a bit on his hand and rubbed it with a finger. It was cool and slippery, and felt a little bit like what he imagined silicon would. He put it next to the blanket, within easy reach. Yugi turned the padded envelope upside down, and out rolled the _pièce de résistance_. He threw the envelope out of sight of the mirror and ripped off the blue and white box the toy sat in. “Woah,” breathed Yugi softly. It was larger than he’d expected, about five or six inches, with three ridges and a bulbous shaft above that got wider at the top. “Ho~ly shit.” The top bit was shiny and slick, but the ridges were matte - for grip, he guessed. “Right, okay.” Yugi lined up the plug and the lube next to him, and bulked up the duvet over a pillow so he lay with his torso propped up but his hips and legs on the floor, facing the mirror. He got rid of all his clothes, struggling out of his top as the anticipation began to heat his blood. Then Yugi lay back, the puzzle on one side, his toy on the other, and the blank mirror in front.

 

 _I really hope he_ can’t _see me right now_ , Yugi prayed. He ran a soft hand over his chest, circling his nipples. Under his touch they hardened into little points. Yugi squeezed them and rolled them between his fingers. They weren’t particularly sensitive but his touch, together with the sight of the black butt plug next to his thigh, was turning him on. He traced patterns on his stomach and lightly tugged at the thin hair low on his belly. In response his cock began to swell and rise. Yugi licked his fingers, then thought better of it and pumped a bit of the lube onto his hand. He gripped his cock and sighed at the feel of it on his skin. Almost lazily he stroked himself, pulling down his foreskin and rubbing a finger over the dark head beneath it. He moaned and the sound startled him. Little shocks of pleasure were already making his cock leak. Yugi spread his legs wide and planted his feet flat on the floor. He dipped a finger in the slit and rubbed its cum over the head. His cock gleamed in the low light and Yugi squeezed more lube into his palm, lots this time. With a feeling almost like trepidation, he inched his fingers lower, across his perineum until they found the ring of muscle that promised ecstasy. It quivered at his touch. Panting now, Yugi rubbed it soothingly, coating his ass in the lube. Cautiously he dipped a finger inside. His muscles clenched briefly, but he’d spent the week teaching himself this and made himself relax. He pushed in further, revelling at the heat and looking for that spot he’d read about so often.

 

The spark of pleasure hit him before he realised he’d found it, and Yugi’s head fell back against the pillow. Eagerly he inserted another finger, stretching his ass and gliding over his prostate. After endless minutes of pleasure Yugi tried to focus, and stretched himself as wide as he could. He drew his fingers out with a squishy noise that would have normally made him blush. Taking the plug, he squeezed a more than generous amount of lube over its bulbous head and smothered it with the liquid. His cock lay rigid and trembling against his stomach. Yugi held the flared base tightly against his thigh with one hand, and with the other he pulled the pyramid’s shoelace necklace over his head.

 

Yami appeared instantly, alert as ever, standing above him in the mirror. His eyes flickered down to Yugi and widened. The spirit nearly _swayed_ and his mouth fell open on what Yugi assumed was a pretty shocked gasp. He bit back a grin and ran his free hand down his body, trailing a line of glossy lube. Yami fell to his knees, his expression for once completely stunned. Yugi cupped his balls, rolled them over his fingers and spread his legs a little wider; he wanted Yami to have an excellent view.

 

Mouth falling open, Yugi let out a kind of half-gasp, half-groan as he pressed his fingers inside him. Loosening around them, he leisurely thrust his fingers in and out, arching his hips up against his hand when he touched his prostate. His other ran the plug up over his chest, rubbing it against his nipples.

 

“Yami…” he moaned, curling his fingers inside him. The spirit was hypnotized. One of his hands was already diving into his trousers and the other he placed against the mirror - he seemed to need the support. The sight of his friend - and lover - loosing control like that sent shudders down his spine. Yugi brought the plug to his lips and licked it teasingly.

 

_… nnn… netjerew, akhw i, imi nen em wechem-a…_

 

Yami shook and his lips moved in some whispered plea - Yugi fancied he could almost hear his voice. Mischievously he ran his tongue over the ridges at the plug’s base and sucked at the plastic. The lube dripped from his mouth onto his collarbone. Yami yanked his trousers open and freed his own erection, clasping it almost feverishly. His eyes burned on Yugi’s skin. Finally deciding enough was enough, Yugi slowly eased his fingers out, his breath shuddering as he did so. He gripped his thigh and pulled the skin of his ass taught. Then he lowered the toy and rubbed it down his perineum. The muscles of his sphincter quivered and flexed. He massaged his ass with the head of the plug, pushing it in slightly.

 

Yami was watching keenly, rubbing the head of his cock. Yugi groaned at the sight. “Yami…” he whimpered. “ _God_ , I want you inside me…” He pushed the polished top in, wincing a little at the burn as his muscles gave way. The pain wasn’t too bad, and he let it pass before he moved again. The ridges felt delicious as they spread him open a bit further, and the plug scraped hard over his prostate. Yugi cried out. He let his head slip back and watched Yami watching him. Each thrust triggered a wave of bliss and Yugi shoved the toy in harder and faster, his hips arching up off the floor. He writhed on the blanket, little breathless cries escaping his throat unbidden. He thought Yami was moving faster as well, but he couldn’t tell for sure. With his free hand he stroked his body frantically, squeezing his nipples and twisting around his cock. “Yami-” he sobbed, feeling only that aching, throbbing pleasure. “Oh god, Yami…” His hand tightened over his cock and he came, pushing himself onto the black toy as he rode out the ecstasy. Rapture thrashed at his body for what felt like an eternity and yet not long enough. Gradually the pulses eased, and Yugi slowed his movements until, finally, he stopped.

 

At last he looked up. Yami was propped against the mirror’s frame, his hands spattered with cum. His eyes were still alert, if a little tired, and when they met Yugi’s he gave a languid, sated smile. Yugi beamed at him, euphoric. Shyly he tugged the plug out and wiped himself off with a tissue. Yami didn’t move, just watched him with that lazy smile. Once Yugi was done, the spirit shuffled into a more comfortable position.

 

“So…” Yugi struggled to think of something he could say that assessed what they’d done. “Good?” Yami gave a slow, definite nod. “Mm.” Yugi tried not to look overly pleased with himself, but it was hard, considering the spirit’s content expression and his own body’s satisfaction. “Yeah, me too. Really good.” _Almost like the real thing_. Yugi pushed the thought away. _It doesn’t matter,_ he assured himself. He grinned at Yami. What they had, whatever it was, was fine as it was. He stretched out happily, determined to think only of Yami.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> netjerew = nTrw. Plural of nTr, "god".
> 
> akhw i = Axw i. "Sunlight" and first person singular suffix pronoun, "I" or "my".
> 
> imi = Imperative of rdi, "Do".
> 
> nen = Demonstrative pronoun nn, "that".
> 
> em wechem-a = m wHm-a. Adverbial phrase "again".
> 
>  
> 
> ie. Gods, my light, do that again.


	8. Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Sennen Puzzle complete, the Egyptian pharaoh Atemu is released. However, a conflict of power prevents him from materialising at Yugi’s side and throws him from the confines of the puzzle into another nearby vessel, one that offers a far more stimulating prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Egyptian words are spelt phonetically based initially on their transliteration and according to my own pronunciation. I’ll include the official transliteration at the end.

 

 

“I was _not_ cheating!” exclaimed Anzu, hitching her bag further up on her shoulder. Jou snorted. “It was an _arcade_ game - how can you cheat at an arcade game?”

 

“You can so cheat at the arcade!” Jou shot back. “Can’t you, Yugi?”

 

The other boy hiked his bag higher on his shoulders. “Um, well…”

 

“Don’t get Yugi involved!” Anzu tossed her hair and punctuated her words by stabbing a finger at Jou. “I won, you lost, end of story.”

 

Jou started walking backwards and arguing with her, half serious and half not. Yugi watched them, sighing as Jou ricocheted off a lamppost.

 

They’d spent another uneventful afternoon at the arcade, wasting time and money and having a damn good time doing it. Still, Yugi could not stop thinking about Yami. Just knowing the spirit was in his mirror, waiting for him, made him eager to rush home. Every time he thought about it, he got butterflies and he felt like his chest was being constricted. _It's almost as if_ , Yugi thought with a small, sly smile, _I'm in love with the spirit._

 

“I thought you had work to do?”

 

Jou waved away Anzu’s concern. “I’ll get to it, it’ll be fine.”

 

“Mm-hmm. And that’s so not what you always say,” she replied, rolling her eyes. They paused at a crossroads. “Alright, see you Monday, guys.”

 

“Yeah, see you Monday,” Jou and Yugi said their goodbyes and all three of them split up.

 

Yugi wandered towards his home, concentrating mostly on the ground or the sky. He had no particular plans for tonight, but he thought maybe he and Yami could work on better communication - they were working without it pretty well, but it was hard, not being able to talk to each other.

 

A few people were out on the street, enjoying the Saturday sunlight before it disappeared. Yugi smiled when he saw couples walking arm in arm. _I am such a sap_ , he thought wryly. Waseda was taking applications, and Yugi wondered how he would take the mirror with him if he got accepted. They could rent a car and tie it to the top, he supposed, but it might be dangerous. If amusing. Yami would be a massive help on his course, though. If only he was in something else that Yugi could actually mo-

 

He stopped dead on the road to the Kame Game Shop.

 

There was a police car and an ambulance outside his house.

 

Yugi went numb. _Oh god, Yami - Grandpa!_

 

He took off at a sprint. _“Grandpa!”_

 

He burst through the door to find policemen and paramedics standing around the shop. Most were kneeling behind the counter. Yugi leapt over to them and then grunted when one of the policemen grabbed him around his waist.

 

“Hey! You can’t just come running into a crime scene-”

 

“That’s my _grandpa_! Grandpa! I’m _Yugi Muto_ , let me go! _Grandpa_!” The policeman hauled him outside by his bag and tossed him into the back of the car.

 

“Woah, easy, take it _easy_. There‘s nothing you can do,” the man said. Yugi stopped struggling and sagged against the leather seats. He wanted to speak but he couldn‘t form the words. “There was an attempted robbery. Your grandfather… your grandfather was shot. I’m afraid he… didn‘t make it.” Yugi closed his eyes. He’d known it as soon as he saw the silent ambulance. Grandpa was… _dead_? His mind flinched away from the word. “I’m sorry,” the man added, watching him carefully. “Is there someone we can call?” Yugi handed them his phone numbly.

 

“Anzu.” The policeman walked away from the car, out of earshot. Yugi looked at the door of the house, and the ambulance with its doors hanging open. A woman stood outside the shop hugging herself. She was talking to another policeman, words tumbling out of her mouth. “It just happened so fast, and there was so much _blood_ -” Yugi crawled into the car and sat with his arms around his knees.

 

After a moment the policeman came back with his phone. “She’s on her way, should be here in a few minutes.” Yugi didn’t reply, didn’t move.

 

_Grandpa’s dead._

 

“Is there anything I can get you?” the man asked awkwardly. Silence met his words and eventually he got the picture and just stood there until a car pulled up on the street. Suddenly Anzu was there, crying and wrapping her arms around him. She didn’t say anything, just pulled him into a hug. Yugi shuddered as tears started to run down his face. They sat huddled in the police car for what felt like hours, crying.

 

The rest was a blur; Anzu and her parents took him to their house, bundled him into a massive duvet and let him and Anzu sleep on the living room floor. He didn’t go to school the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. He just lay in Anzu’s house, crying when he could.

 

At some point Anzu’s parents must have organised everything, because eventually the funeral happened. At the wake he stood between Jou and Honda and nodded vacantly as people trailed past muttering empty words. Anzu was quietly handing out presents as the guests left; the part of Yugi that was not deadened hoped she knew how grateful he was. Kaiba stepped towards him then. Jou’s hand tightened on his shoulder but he said nothing. The CEO gave a him brisk nod and lay a black and silver envelope to the side. Yugi managed a brief, tiny smile and Anzu gave him his gift with tremulous thanks.

 

After the wake Anzu and Jounouchi took care of grandfather’s things and put them in storage. They told him he could live on his own since he was eighteen, and he moved back into the house.

 

He couldn’t face the closed door that led to Sugoroku’s room, so he went straight to his own. On the desk the golden puzzle glinted at him, neglected for so long. Moving sluggishly, Yugi picked it up and pulled the bright shoe laces over his head. Immediately Yami was there, his face etched with concern.

 

At the sight of the spirit Yugi collapsed against the mirror, choking out the reason for his tears. Yami rained kisses on the mirror with heartbreaking sympathy. Curling up against it Yugi cried deep, heart-wrenching sobs that tore his body in two.

 

It was a long, long time before he stopped, and much longer before he could speak. When he did, he leant against the mirror and whispered into the darkness.

 

“They said, G-Grandpa had some insurance money, and with the condolence money, I can finish school, and then I’ll just - just take over the shop…” He sniffled and wiped at his eyes. The absence of Sugoroku was like a hollow space in his chest, and Yugi knew it was so incredibly selfish, but when he thought about spending the rest of his life tending the Turtle Game Shop, alone, he felt desolated. He said so, wrapping his arms around his knees. Yami shook his head vehemently. His crimson eyes were wide and concerned. Yugi could almost hear his voice in the back of his mind. “Yami… I miss him.” The spirit placed a hand against the curve of his cheek as it rested against the mirror, and they sat that way as the night darkened around them.

 

x

 

The days passed in a long line of dull grey nothings. Yugi went to school during the day and worked in the game shop in the evenings. He spent the nights with Yami.

 

At school his grades slipped and he stopped asking questions. There was no longer the possibility of going to Tokyo - all grandpa had was the Turtle Game Shop, and now, it was all Yugi had - so grades no longer mattered. His future was already mapped out for him.

 

“I’m happy when I’m with you”, he said one night to Yami, who was beginning to look concerned all the time. The hollow space within Yugi did not ache anymore with Grandpa’s loss, but it was still empty. “I just …” He sighed. The glass partition between them was as palpable as ever. “I wish you could be with me, properly. I wish I had something to look forward to.” Yami leant against the mirror and comforted Yugi as best he could. “I think I’m in love with you,” Yugi said quietly, looking down at his hands. The spirit froze. “I know it’s stupid, but…” he sighed, leaving the rest of his sentence unspoken. After a while, Yugi lay down in his quilt at the foot of the mirror, and tried to go to sleep. He didn’t see the flash of determination that passed through Yami’s eyes.

 

Yugi struggled through the days as best he could, finally reaching the spring holiday. The first Monday he decided to keep the shop closed and slept in. He spent the day tidying and reading through some of Sugoroku’s Egyptology books. For the first time in months the man’s scribbles and notes made him laugh instead of cry. Yugi smiled as he put them away.

 

He set his laptop up on his desk and rummaged through Google for a while. He was tempted to put on the puzzle and spend the day with Yami, but he needed to be able to spend some time without him, or he’d withdraw inside a bubble. He stumbled onto a course list for Domino college‘s next academic year. Among the humanities subjects was an evening course on Classical Mediterranean History. He read over the description - it provided lectures on Classical Greek, Roman, Carthaginian and Etruscan history and culture. It wasn’t Egyptology, Yugi acknowledged, still feeling the faint sting that came with its loss, but it sounded interesting. “And I can’t sit here all week,” he muttered. He printed off the details and left them on the desk. The puzzle glinted beside them, but Yugi resisted a little longer. Instead, he picked it up and walked across the room with it cradled in his hands.

 

Exhausted, he flopped down on the bed. A couple of regulars had asked if he was hiring, and Yugi was seriously considering taking on one of the kids part time, just so he could rest once in a while. “I don’t know how Grandpa did it,” Yugi murmured, throwing an arm over his eyes. When he wasn’t in school, he was up at six everyday, grabbing a slice of toast before a delivery, and then there was stock taking, replenishing and tagging, not to mention all the financial paperwork that kept him working until late every evening. Today had been the first day he’d managed to find a few moments for himself. Usually he loved games, Duel Monsters, everything. “I just… need a break,” Yugi sighed. He traced the udjat eye of the pyramid. _I wish I had enough money for a holiday_ , he thought idly, and spent a minute dreaming of an onsen ryokan. There was one at Nikko Park, if he remembered correctly, and a hot spring break would do wonderful things for his muscles right now.

 

_... ir ek sedjemet wi..._

 

The Ryuzu Falls would be beautiful this time of year, Yugi thought wistfully. Light crept in around the edges of his arm and he closed his eyes. He still had to do his Japanese literature assignment before term started again. Jounouchi would probably be calling about it by the end of the week as well, he should really get started on it straight away.

 

Yugi didn’t move.

 

_… ir ek sedjemet wi… ma en i, Yugi, em ren netjerw **ma en i** …_

 

Great, and now he was hearing things. Yugi clutched the puzzle and groaned. All that Egyptian was rotting his brain. Now he knew why Grandpa was so eccentric. He snorted, and took his arm away, blinking in the light. For a minute, he’d thought someone was calling…

 

Yugi blinked again, sure it was a trick of the light. There was a reflection in his mirror that shouldn’t have been there, given the pyramid that still sat in his hand. “Yami…?” He stood up slowly, the puzzle a reassuring weight at his side. It was the spirit, but he looked ill, almost - weak and unsteady. Even as he thought that Yami swayed and caught himself on the mirror. “Yami,” he whispered. “How - the puzzle…” Those dark eyes looked at him and he trailed off. “I don’t understand,” he said in the silence. Yami smiled at him wearily and mouthed something.

 

_… iw i cher tw en nechech neb, akhw i…_

 

Yugi’s eyes widened. “Yami!” he hissed, shocked. The deep voice had whispered the words as if from the shadows of his room. “I can hear you!” The spirit’s smile widened, but he was leaning heavily against the mirror’s frame. Hastily Yugi yanked the puzzle over his head. Yami’s image suddenly became a little clearer and he straightened. Relieved, Yugi stepped forward. “How are you doing this?” Yami shook his head. With what looked like incredible effort, the spirit drew himself up and breathed in deeply. Then the surface of the mirror rippled slightly, and Yugi watched in horrified silence as a tanned, long-fingered hand emerged. It turned palm up and stayed there, waiting. In the mirror, Yami looked up and gazed at him.

 

Yugi looked at the hand, motionless in the air. “Yami…” He looked back up, desperate to hear his voice again, understand, _something_. “You can leave the mirror?” Slowly, Yami shook his head.

 

_… mi cher wi, Yugi…_

 

Then he got it. “You want me, to…” Yugi gestured to the spirit’s hand weakly. Yami nodded and he gulped. Go _inside_ the mirror? How? “I…” Yugi took a step back, shaking his head. “I can’t, I - I have the store, I - my friends…” Opposite him, Yami tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, not unkindly, and Yugi fell silent. Hadn’t it only been the other day when he’d wished they could be together? Wished he had something more to look forward to than endless days in the Kame Game Shop? Grandpa was gone, and soon his friends would leave as well. But to go like this, leave everything behind… “Could I come back?” Yami shook his head silently.

 

 _Never come back_ … Could he really leave the whole world behind for some… ghost? Yugi bit his lip and stared at Yami’s hand. It trembled slightly under his gaze, and he realised Yami was using all his strength to offer him this. Yugi thought about going back to his daily life, maybe never seeing Yami again, and the wave of desperation that swept through him took him by surprise. He couldn’t ever go back to the way he was before, and nothing would ever be the same. He’d be with Yami… Would it really be so bad?

 

Yugi raised his head and looked into those dark eyes. Even though his mind screamed denial - thought this was insane - everything in him ached, _yearned_ to walk forward into oblivion. He should think about this, talk this over, figure out what he wanted, but… _I don’t want to think anymore._ Instincts were supposed to be followed, he reasoned.

 

So Yugi stepped forward, took the spirit’s hand, and, without another thought, walked into the mirror.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t bore you with grammatical notes, only a simple translation:
> 
>  
> 
> ir ek sedjemet wi… 
> 
>  
> 
> Can you hear me…?
> 
>  
> 
> ir ek sedjemet wi… ma en i, Yugi, em ren netjerw ma en i… 
> 
>  
> 
> Can you hear me?… Look at me, Yugi, in the name of the gods, look at me…
> 
>  
> 
> iw i cher tw en nechech neb, akhw i… 
> 
>  
> 
> I am with you for all eternity, my light… 
> 
>  
> 
> mi cher wi, Yugi… 
> 
>  
> 
> Come with me, Yugi…


End file.
